Local Government

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what  (a) events,  (b) engagements and  (c) meetings (i) she, (ii) other Ministers in her Department and (iii) staff in her Department attended with (A) councillors and (B) officials of authorities bidding for unitary status between 1 February and 16 April 2007.

Phil Woolas: My colleagues and I, and officials frequently meet members and officers of councils from across the country which may include councils that either have made unitary proposals or would be affected by such proposals.

Biofuels: Subsidies

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will list the subsidies which are paid to encourage the growing of bio-fuels.

Ian Pearson: The EU's annual €45/ha Energy Aid payment is available to farmers for purpose-grown biofuel crops grown on non set-aside land. Farmers can also receive the Single Payment for purpose-grown biofuel crops on set-aside or where the EU's €45 per hectare energy aid payment is claimed for crops on non set-aside land.
	Support for energy crops is also provided by Research and Development funding from DEFRA to increase yields and reduce inputs.

Telecommunications: Billing

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with British Telecom on its additional charges for payment of bills by cheque or cash.

Margaret Hodge: I have not held discussions with British Telecom on this issue however, I have raised the matter with the chief executive officer of the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom). Ofcom is considering whether any of the changes BT has recently made raise any regulatory issues and is coming back to me on this in May.
	I understand that, BT has applied a price differential between customers who pay their accounts by direct debit and those who pay by other means for a number of years. This reflects the increased processing and debt management costs associated with payments not made by direct debit. Such differentials are common practice among communications providers and utility service providers.
	From 1 May 2007, BT is changing how it presents this differential from a discount for those customers paying by direct debit, to a charge for those paying by other means for a number of years. BT has combined this change with an increase of £1.50 a quarter in the charge (from £3 to £4.50).
	The Light User Scheme and In Contact Plus will not be affected by the increased charge. These are the special tariff schemes offered to vulnerable customers by BT as a result of the Universal Service Obligation placed on the company.